yén
From Tolkien Gateway
Yén (plural yéni) is Quenya for "long year" or "great year",[1] and was a unit of time used by the Elves of Middle-earth before the first rising of the Sun. Compare with a Valian Year, the unit of time used in Valinor.
- 1 yén = 144 solar years = 52,596 days[1]
Tolkien used Valian Years to measure the passing of time in the Elder Days as recorded in the Annals of Aman, but such a Valian Years equals 9.582 solar years = 3500 days (in older versions, the Annals of Valinor, it equals 10 solar years).
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 62 (forms yén, yéni, and yēn)